 Florida State University
Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability
NEWSLETTER
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
Near-Shore Oil and Gas Production Symposium
In the coming months
policy-makers in Florida
will begin to address one of our State's most important, and perhaps most
contentious, issues - accessing near shore oil
and gas.
IESES
will hold a symposium entitled "Near Shore Oil and Gas Production." Three panels, Technical Challenges, Economic
Challenges and Policy Challenges, will articulate scholarship derived issues
that must be addressed in any near shore production strategy the state considers. As host, IESES will serve as an 'honest
broker' in presenting panelists who will provide insight and critical
information needed to bring greater understanding of the issues to the debate.
Where:
University Center Club
FSU Doak Campbell Stadium
Tallahassee, Florida
When:
November 2, 2009, starting at 2:30 PM
For more information.
Sponsors: The Florida State University's Office of Research, the Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability, the Departments of Oceanography and Economics and the Environmental and Land Use Law Program at the College of Law.
_________________________
2009 Florida Energy Systems Consortium Summit
When: September 29th and 30th
Where:
University of South Florida
Marshall Student Center
Tampa, Florida
For More Information
Or Contact:
Julianne Veal or call 352-392-0947
_________________________
Florida Energy and Climate Commission Meeting
When: September 29th from 8:00-11:00 AM
Where:
University of South Florida
Marshall Student Center
Tampa, Florida
The meeting is open to the public.
For more information.
_________________________
FESC Florida Smart Grid Workshop
When: September 28th
Where:
University of South Florida
Marshall Student Center
Tampa, Florida
Target Audience: Florida electric utilities, power
industry suppliers and technology developers, research and development
organizations and other stakeholders on the subject of defining and
planning for the smart grid in Florida.
For More Information
Or Contact:
Rick Meeker or call 850.645.1711
|
Schedule of Tours of the Off-Grid Zero Emissions Building
|
What Dates: First and third Friday of the month When: Tours begin on the hour between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PMWhere: see MapContact: Justin Kramer
|
Upcoming Faculty Presentations
|
|
Focus on Faculty:
|
 
Drs. Tingting Zhao and Mark Horner presented their research on
"Accounting for Carbon Emissions in Florida: Estimations Based on Land
Use and Residential Energy/Fuel Consumption" at the 2009 Annual Meeting
of the Association of American Geographers. Dr. Zhao's current
research focuses on effects of land-use regulation on metropolitan
carbon sources and sinks and will be presented at a Brown Bag Lecture for the Sustainable Energy and Governance Center in the near future.
In the Summer of 2009, Dr. Svetlana Poroseva became a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics which is the world's largest technical
society dedicated to the global aerospace profession.
Dr. Poroseva is affiliated with the Center for Advanced Power Systems. Congratulations!
|
|
|
|
Dear Melanie,
|
Here
at IESES, we serve as a public resource. This newsletter highlights the research
of our colleagues and noteworthy items related to achieving a sustainable
energy economy. If you have news to share, please let us know.
Dave Cartes
Director
|
Providing Insight on the Economic Impacts of a Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade System
| 
In June of 2008, Governor Crist signed House Bill 7135 (HB7135), a
comprehensive energy and economic development package aimed at reducing GHG
(greenhouse gas) emissions as well as encouraging investment in alternative and
renewable energy technoglogies. Section 65 calls for the Florida Department of
Environmental Dr. Julie Harrington
Protection (FDEP) to propose
rule(s) for the creation of a
cap-and-trade regulatory program to reduce greeenhouse gas emissions from major emitters like power plants. FDEP
contracted with IESES/FESC to assist in development of a state cap-and-trade (C&T)
rule proposal, including economic analysis components. The principal investigator is Julie
Harrington, the Director of The FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis.
The project award is for $226,000, and consists of a phased approach;
Phase I: the C&T design element, Phase 2: Data compilation
and economic analysis of the C&T program designs, and Phase
3: Evaluation of C&T Rule proposal.
The Phase One was primarily completed and submitted to FDEP in
June 2009, by a leading C&T design expert, Dr. Andy Keeler, of Ohio State
University. The report findings included: 1) administering the C&T system
at the power plant (individual generating units) is a reasonable and pragmatic
choice. 2) The state will have to determine the minimum size of generation
unit that will be covered by the rule 3) The state will also have to set specific caps over
time consistent with the Governor's greenhouse gas reduction goals. 4) Imported
electricity will need to be addressed. 5) The most visible and contentious issues
about which the state will have to make decisions are those of allowance
allocation and the use of allowance value (read more).
Since July 2009, the momentum towards rule development has slowed
considerably. Governor Crist is now leaning towards waiting for the outcome of recent efforts to
establish a national cap and trade program (read more).
Harrington is charged
with analyzing the potential state-level economic impacts associated with implementing
a cap and trade program in Florida. In addition to keeping current with
the literature with respect to the national C&T program, the analysis also
includes examining various scenarios including: modifying the renewables,
nuclear and current fossil fuel energy mix, varying
offsets, energy efficiency programs, introduction of new technologies and
carbon capture/sequestion; over time. She is also working with Ted Kury, the
Director of Energy Studies at the University of Florida Public Utility Research
Center.
Kury is creating a utility dispatch model (to be publicly available on the FDEP website) that examines the least cost
economic dispatch of a group of electric generating units in Florida required
to provide the amount of electricity demanded by end users in each hour from
2009 to year 2040. The costs to produce this electricity are driven by the type
of generating unit, it's operating efficiency, the variable costs required to
operate and maintain the unit, and the price of its fuel. Once a price to emit
carbon dioxide is introduced, the cost of the emission is added to the dispatch
decision as well. The dispatch model output, the energy price (of electricity)
will then be used as input(s) for the economic impact modeling analysis,
conducted by Harrington.
The data collection element of this project has
utilized a cadre of stakeholder volunteers, the "data miner's group" to
validate the data used for both the dispatch and the economic impact
models. The group consists of 12
advisors; ranging from large Florida utilities to municipally owned,
cooperatives, energy consultants and non-profit organizations. This process, though perhaps cumbersome, has
helped immeasurably in "working the data kinks out" with the stakeholders to
ensure a consensual and forward movement with respect to the validation of data
sources used for the study. Harrington and Kury are midway through the Phase 2
economic analysis phase of the project, which is set to conclude in November
2009. Phase 3 will likely be completed during the first quarter of 2010. Stay tuned!
|
Algae - a New Fuel Source?
|
As Floridians, we know that algae grow out of control here
because most of us have seen that icky green slime on top of nearby lakes and
streams. What if Florida's natural ability to grow algae was harnessed to
produce energy, clean wastewater and capture and store greenhouse gases
responsible for global warming? This is the vision for The Florida State
University's Systems Approach to Bio-Energy Research (SABER). Joel
Kostka, Director of SABER, has a vision for the incredible efficiencies
available for the development of algae based bio-fuels.
Diagram of FSU's Systems Approach to Bio-Energy Research
Kostka and his colleagues are working on ways to produce marketable and
cost-effective bio-fuel from algae. If their efforts pay-off, Florida
will be positioned to grow an energy source as well as energy-related jobs here
in the state. With one of the largest coastlines in the U.S., Florida
could develop a nearly unlimited supply of algae-based biomass to support bio-fuel
production inconspicuously from its surrounding oceans.
Development of state-of-the-art, off-the-grid algal cultivation facilities will
allow Kostka and his colleagues to produce algae with a minimal ecological
footprint and significant environmental cleansing. Algae cultivation can
draw excess nutrients out of wastewater, naturally cleaning the water in the
process. Although the opportunity is further in the future, algae growth requires
carbon dioxide, and flue gas from coal-fired power plants could be used for
growing algae, thus leading to the capture and storage of this greenhouse
gas. After fuel production, the left-over biomass can be converted into
animal feed or other byproducts. SABER's success takes us a step closer
to a sustainable energy economy for the State of Florida. For more
information, see Dr. Kostka website.
Growing algae in Dr. Kostka's Lab.
|
Energy Research at FSU
|
Watch and Listen to:
WFSU's Issues in Education --"Energy Research"
On
WFSU Issues in Education, Dave Cartes, Julie Harrington and Kirby Kemper
discuss areas of energy research including the issues of economics,
conservation and energy efficiency at FSU with host Suzanne Smith.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Staff Join IESES
|
 Valerie Pezzullo, IESES Campus Energy Training and Events Coordinator, joins our staff in time to help prepare for the 2009 FESC Summit
and the Near-Shore Oil and Gas Production Symposium. Other events
she is working on include Intellectual Property and Media
Training. In her previous position, Valerie was a researcher in
Astrophysics at FSU formulating computational and  theoretical
methods of analyzing Supernovae. She is also an active member in
Women in Math, Science, and Engineering at FSU. Valerie is an
undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering.
Valerie Pezzullo and Dave Cartes
Luke Mowbray
Luke Mowbray,
IESES Campus Sustainability Liaison, is responsible for enhancing the
cooperation and communication between IESES and the various campus,
city, county and state organizations associated with sustainability.
Luke is a graduate student in Urban and Regional Planning where he
specializes in Environmental Planning and Natural Resource
Management. Before coming to this position, Luke worked on and
IESES grant as a research assistant in FSU's Department of Urban and
Regional Planning where he studied the effects of land use planning on
energy consumption. His current research interests include the
effectiveness of community level sustainability practices and the
restoration of Florida's natural habitats.
|
 |
|
FSU IESES Newsletter
2000 Levy Avenue, Suite 360
Tallahassee, FL 32310
(850) 645-9165
|
|
|
|
|
